


Share a Coke

by keylimepie



Series: Sabriel One-Shots [8]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Fix-It, M/M, Pining Sam Winchester, Post-Season/Series 12, Rescue Missions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-15
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2019-05-07 06:22:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14665140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keylimepie/pseuds/keylimepie
Summary: Something keeps reminding Sam of Gabriel. But it seems like he has no hope to find him again, until another tragedy strikes.





	Share a Coke

**Author's Note:**

> Set during and just after season 12. I kind of wrote this during Hellatus last year and abandoned it. Oops.

It all started with a bottle of Coke. 

Sam sat waiting in the car while Dean ran in to stock up on snacks at the Gas ‘n’ Sip. He returned a short time later with a bag of junk food and two Coke bottles, of which he passed one to Sam and cracked open the other himself. 

Sam twirled the icy bottle in his hand, watching the condensation drip down his fingers. He wasn't particularly thirsty, but he thought the caffeine might ease his headache. 

“Who’d you get? I got Jose. Dunno who Jose is, but I'm supposed to share a Coke with him,” Dean said, holding his bottle up. 

“Gabriel,” Sam said quietly, staring down at the name on the bottle. “Share a Coke with Gabriel.” He imagined the sassy archangel snatching the bottle from his hand and guzzling it down with a glint in his golden eyes, daring Sam to stop him. But of course that would never happen; Gabriel was long gone. Sam felt a rush of sadness and loss. 

Dean grunted. He started the car and backed out of the parking space with a sideways glance at Sam, and the sound of AC/DC filled the silence. 

Several weeks later, they stopped for dinner at a chain restaurant in a shopping plaza, lured in by signs for BOGO entrees and a draft beer happy hour. Castiel had joined them unexpectedly halfway through dinner. The angel had ordered coffee and chocolate cake, and seeing the way he and Dean were staring at each other, Sam expressed no interest in dessert and excused himself to go check out the bookstore next door. 

It was a large chain store, with more space devoted to electronics, a coffee shop, and games and toys than to books. There was a table just inside the door with an entry box for a drawing. “Free drawing for goodies and swag, no purchase necessary,” said the girl enticingly. Sam shrugged and wrote his name on the slip, then went to the coffee shop to get a latte. 

He was sitting in a chair near the history section, reading about Native American archaeological finds of the Midwest, when Dean and Cas finally wandered in. 

“How many books did you read, nerd?” Dean asked, nudging Sam's shin with his boot. 

“How many hickeys did you get?” Sam replied, staring at Dean's neck. 

“Shut up,” Dean muttered, blushing. He kicked Sam's leg a little harder. Sam kicked back. Castiel looked at the brothers with concern, uncertain whether he should intervene. 

“Sam Winchester to the front of the store, please,” said a voice over the PA system. 

Sam jumped up, dodging around Dean, and strolled to the front of the store. 

“Congrats, you're a winner!” the girl said cheerily, handing him a bag. 

“What did you get?” Castiel asked as Sam peered into the bag. 

“It's… it’s Loki,” he said, pulling the boxed vinyl figure out and looking at it. The character looked little like the Loki he had known, who'd fallen in battle to protect him, though he supposed there was a similarity in the smirk. Sam stuffed it back in the bag and thanked the store clerk. “Let's go,” he said to his brother and his friend, and darted out of the store ahead of them. The doll was thrown in the trunk of the Impala and he didn't look at it again. 

* 

Castiel was lost. Sam thought there was no hope, but Dean would never be able to let go. Dean had researched madly, tortured answers out of many creatures, and at last he had found something that he thought would work. Either it would work and they'd pull Cas out of the Empty, or they'd be lost themselves. 

“Sammy, you don't need to do this. I'll go alone, he's my- he's Cas,” Dean finished helplessly. “But if I don't come back, you can…” 

“He's my friend, and you're my brother. I'm coming,” Sam said with conviction. Dean was too worn out to argue. 

They completed the spell and plunged into the dark, cold place. It was like swimming through ink. They held each other's hands as they hadn't done since Sam was old enough to cross the street alone. Magical chains around each of their ankles tethered them to the world, their only lifeline out of this wretched place. 

Dean had tucked one of Cas’s feathers in his pocket, and a little baggie of honey that had been deep in his belongings since Cas had given it to him years ago. The items were to act as a beacon, he hoped, leading him to Cas’s energy. 

Sam didn't have any of Cas’s things in his pockets; he knew that Dean would have a much better shot at finding Cas. But he had impulsively tucked a few other things in his pockets anyway. He knew it was a long shot, he couldn't let himself hope. But he closed his eyes and felt blindly around the murky space. 

Dean gave a shout, and suddenly their hands were separated, and he could no longer feel or hear Dean. Sam had no idea what had happened. Dean had just disappeared into the darkness. Then Sam felt a tug on the chain around his ankle. Something was pulling it. 

He reached his arms through the darkness, combing through it, finding nothing. No Dean, no Cas, nothing. He was being pulled backward, he hoped it was Dean pulling him back, but he kept combing his arms through. Maybe, maybe. Then his fingers brushed something. 

Sam struggled against the chain and with all his strength was just able to surge forward and grab. He wrapped his arms around… someone. Sam tightened his embrace and held his breath. 

He landed hard on his back on the cold floor of the bunker. He grunted painfully and glanced to the side. Dean laid nearby in similar fashion, the familiar form of Castiel safely in his arms. Cas began to sit up, confusion and disorientation clear on his face. Dean continued to embrace him, making no attempt to disguise the tears flowing down his face. 

“Sammy… who do you have?” Dean asked apprehensively. Sam was sitting nearby, holding someone in his lap. 

Sam shifted to the side and laid the figure down carefully on the floor next to him. “It's Gabe,” he said softly, brushing the backs of his fingers over the archangel’s cheeks. His eyes remained closed. “Gabe, hey, wake up. Please.” 

Gabriel’s eyes snapped open. “ _What_?” he gasped. “Whoa… whoa… hey Sam.” His eyes darted around frantically. “Cassie… Deano. Why am… thought I got stabbed.” Gabriel patted his chest with shaking hands. He sat up, his eyes wide with fear. 

“You did,” Sam said, laying a hand on his forearm gently. “Look, just take it easy right now, okay? We’ll explain it all eventually... but for right now, I’ve got you, okay?” With that, he wrapped his arms around the trembling archangel and held him against his chest. “I’ve got you, Gabriel.” 


End file.
